Shuttle



Feb. 16, A M lSERSESGN 2,071,238

SHUTTLE Filed Jan. 2, 1935v Patented Feb. 1.6, 1937 UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.

Thisinventionrelates to improvements in loom shuttles, and more particularly to that. type of shuttle having a resilient cover-plate for binding the cop in the shuttle.

One object of the invention is to provide in a shuttle of the stated type a cover-plate that will more efficiently bind the cop in position and which will thereby reduce yarn wastage, as hereinafter, more specifically described.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cover-plate of improved structural form less subject to fracture under tension than the cover p-lates of the prior art.

Still another object of the inventionis to provide a shuttle of the stated type wherein the cover-plate is so mounted as to materially reduce the strains imposed thereby upon the body of the shuttle.

The invention will be more readily understood from the attached drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a shuttle made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the shuttle;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating details of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a detached fragmentary perspective illustrating an element of the invention.

With reference to the drawing and in accordance with my invention, the shuttle l is provi-ded with a cover-plate 2 of resilient metal, this plate being pivoted in the loom upon a pin 3 and extending longitudinally at the top of the shuttle cavity. Provision is made in the form of a latch 4 for releasably retaining the free end of the plate 2. In practice, the plate 2 is drawn down under tension upon a cop 5 of yarn placed in the shuttle cavity in well known manner, and being retained by the latch 4 exerts a considerable force upon the cop, which is thereby compressed into the serrations 6 in the bottom and sides of the shuttle cavity, so that all parts of the cop are held securely Within the shuttle.

An imporant feature of the invention resides in the fact that the cover-plate pivot pin 3 is located in the shuttle at a point remote from the upper face of the latter, the pin in the present instance being positioned approximately midway between the top and bottom surfaces. That end of the cover-plate 2 which attaches to the pivot pin 3 is provided with an angularly offset or inclined end section 2a which terminates in the socket l embracing the pin 3. With this construction, when the cop 5 is inserted in the shuttle and the cover-plate 2 drawn down into position over the cop and secured in place by the v latch 4, the terminal end of the cop, as shown in Fig. 3, is compressed and securely held in position by the inclined portion 2a of the plate 2. Since the yarn is withdrawn from the opposite end of the cop, it will be apparent that substantially the entire amount of yarn may be withdrawn from the shuttle before the remnant of the cop is released from the compressive retaining force of the cover-plate 2 and specifically of the inclined portion 2a of the cover-plate. In other words, this terminal end of the cop Will be anchored securely in position until substantially the entire quantity of yarn in the cop has been withdrawn. This is a distinct advantage, in that it materially reduces the quantity of waste yarn and effects a substantial economy.

In shuttles of the prior type, wherein the coverplate 2 is pivotally connected to the shuttle by a pin located adjacent the upper edges of the shuttle cavity, the inner end of the cop underlying the pivoted end of the cover-plate is not held by the plate with a suiiiciently positive clamping action to preclude release of the buttremnant of the cop from its normal position while there is still a considerable length of yarn left in the butt. As a result of such release, the yarn has a tendency to rupture and to cause im perfections in the woven fabric, and it is accordingly customary for Weavers toy replace a cop in the shuttle while a considerable portion of the co-p still remains to thereby preclude any possibility of the undesirable results referred to. The waste from this cause is great, but the practice is justified by the primary necessity for producing flawless fabrics. With a cover-plate constructed as described above and in accordance with my invention, substantially the entire body of yarn in the cop may be used with reasonable assurance that there will be no immature release of the cop or of the remnant thereof in the shuttle.

The construction described has a further material advantage in that by reason of the location of the pivot pin 3 remote to the upper surface of the shuttle, there is greater reinforcement in the shuttle against the forces exerted by the tensioned cover-plate 2 which tend to split the shuttle at the top. The shuttle is thereby made materially more durable than the shuttles of the prior art.

Another undesirable feature of the prior shuttles of this type has been a tendency of the cover-plate 2 to crystallize and fracture at a point adjacent to the pivot pin 3, this being the point of maximum stress when the plate is exed over the cop. I have discovered that the tendency to Vfracture may be overcome by a simple reinforcing rib extending from a point adjacent to the socket 1 longitudinally of the plate to a point beyond the area of maximum stress. This rib 8 may to advantage be pressed out of the metal of the plate from the under side of the latter, so that in addition to the desired strengthening effect, there is actually an increase in the capacity of the shuttle chamber, and the recess on the inner side of the plate 2 tends also to increase the copgripping and -retaining characteristics of the inclined portion 2a of the plate.

It Will be apparent that my invention not only materially improves the structural characteristics of the cover-plate 2 and of the shuttle, but also materially improves its operating characteristics.

I claim:

A shuttle comprising a cavity for reception of a yarn cop, a stii but flexible cover-plate extending longitudinally of the shuttle in a normal plane at the top of said cavity and having at one end an angularly offset section extending downwardly into and to a point adjacent the bottom of said cavity, said oiset section and an adjoining portion of the plate being of reduced Width, means for pivotally securing the inturned extremity of said plate to the shuttle, means for releasably anchoring the opposite end of said plate, the said offset end of the plate constituting a retaining means for the inner extremity of a cop clamped in said shuttle by the cover-plate, and said section having a smooth surface free from projections for non-abrading contact with the cop and being provided with a pressed-out longitudinal reinforcing rib projecting from the outer face of the plate and extending substantially over the entire length of said portion of the plate of reduced Width and embracing the area of maximum stress to which the plate is subjected.

ALLAN M. SERGESON. 

